The sun., 1887-02-20
LUKE, SHORTS CAPTURE or DODGE
UTY. "'
In Incident IN the History Or the Man vvAs
Killed Jim CourtrAsht. O.,


IN o..
In Incideat IN the History or the Ms. wAs
Killed Jina Ceurtrasht. O, IL II.
DODGE CrTY, Kan, Feb. 16.-Luke SheN(
the man who has Just killed the noted despey
ado Jim Courtright, in Texas. has q historN
which Is unique on the border. II was he whoI
! with the assistance Of fifteen Of the most cele.
brated bad men Of tho entire Wcst, captured
this town and held It against all comers until
NO had made treaty Of peece with his enemies
In tho spring OF 1883 A. b. Webster, saloon
keeper was Mayor Of Dodge City. Next door
to his place was a saloon kept BY Harris
Short A rivalry existed between the
two places, and Webster had used his
authority as Mayor to break ap the business Of
his neighbors. At that time iii Dodge CITY "A.
looms had girls for walters anu singers. Web.
ster, while keeping girls himself, pulled Shorts
place repeatedly for doing thesame thing, and
the situation at last became 80 strained that
Harris announced himself a candidate for
Mayor at the March election. Webster did NOT
want tho Office any more, and he imported
from the Territory a man named Larry Deger,
who stood as his candidate. After q heated
%sbstes f SoSers n 3eTs Ss eestod SnS maze up o'
The first thing that the Council did was to
S,,,Ia The new Mayor enforced Il against Harris 1
snort, 81 Pr, mixing no move t?yard Webster or any
cause Of the Webster faction. The Sl rssSlt was sa
several fights with reyovers and guns on the
y .@o anS aaSSf Ss
under martial law. Luke Short and HIS immedl
ate followers were arrested and thrown Into iFI1
Ths nsxt day The Visi!sace Ssmmittse caY
at the jail and informed Short that he and l.
ana have wefS sa
gong East or West, but 60 they must. A. the
that time there was nothing to Be done % but to to,
GO; GO. and Short and his friends went to the. do,
soSs sa9 train r the s Such
thirty women who had been attached to the
een e nas mha
Ted to fifteen t zen Of the girls in the 9ce %
this ceremony @ were i, permtted dsion To- remain o'
As soon as Short was thrown into jsi he tele.
gra|phsd ra|pn to +arned @ for his attorney When he
the Vigilance Committee and informed that that Rs
could not land. He accordingly. boarded the
wssd t. ar he ssG e. sks Sfs %
home. About twenty armed men were kept at
ap co% and sbo% yss Maf ns
pathy, with Short.
c,iIn In the meantime Short had gone to Kansas
to points IN ns %hsee
taness tan Informing them Of what lad happened
W sna nns h% LIS Sass aa
before before the Governor asked fSr : regiment of
rescinded 1hnisH KS order Ga 'aller ane I'M
Short on, his own resources. II response
hSF s''SfsssmH Hoiaas M'fts dEnt
Mowdy Joe Lowe Of Denver, Bat Masterson oi
s6ossS Gns oi Pneblo snd snict q Ses
the t; number q fifteen IN ali As The Arrival d
timo in the papers OF Kansas City the Vieilarc,
eady an %hes
In readiness ~ SHORT t% APPLIED to the Govern
satisfaction he started d out On Ris ca@psiRSS. 9siS
Ever man in the crowd was loaded with armt
besn o padae
Se 81
When s ht aSt a
FSe sanas 9n s ommtss ssa Ss ah I %ssr 5 aas
platform first and. beeoning TO hfo his foieSers " rs
and Fers Whom s m ho had
,cruited for his perilous enterprise. AS the men
aGS s hosa
Gds 9s Th his ony ssb,
Vigilance Committee By this time @ aseompare r r.
mn sad eaine e mssp1
firing gun. Forming in line, the Short ARM
filed past the Vigilance Committee and marched
proceeded to make themselves comfortable
That day and for q week afterward armed
men patrolled the streets, tho Webster faction
and shorts adherents making NO attempt I'd
press their conquest. Citizens not Interested
ing to stick their noses out lest they might
be snapped OIL by flying bullet. At the end
of a week a truce was patched up and on con,
dition that his saloon should have equal rights
Short agreed to disband his troops and sign
treaty ofpeace. The toughs whom he had as
som bled disappeared after q while, and Short
in the course OF time, sold out his property
here and removed to Fort Worth. where he
killed Courtright.